Seeking Information for a Ride to the Arctic Ocean Across the Yukon

[ndncowboy]

You can carry 2 extra gallons in your saddle bags real easy. That may or may not be enough depending on the mileage you are getting. But they are relative safe. If you've contacted Rollin' I'm sure he already told you about them and how far stations are. He also went car tire on rear and knobby on front on his Vision which is about the same weight as the Indian. I think he had something for emergency communication too as cell phone is worthless up there. But the marsh area I think I would accept an alternate means there. So what if you didn't ride every single bit of it. Who here would have the right to poo poo you you. It is still something no one has done by Indian anyway. You will have an experience of a lifetime. You might even get hooked on that kind of adventure as Rollin' has. Have fun with it and good luck.

[bwana6]

Consider doing it on a Scout?

Better mileage but not the difference between night and day,

My friend did it on a BMW 1200 boxer engine and its a 2013. Said there is gas. Chances are you will run into someone else going and can buddy it up there. Summer run only. Winter time is a death wish........so he says. People do it on Harleys so there is no reason an Indian can't do it.

[Venator]

Richard, if you customize panniers instead of saddlebags, you could carry 5-gallon jerry cans.  That might be more rupture proof than anything else.

And, Brother, flying the last few miles is OK by all of us jealous types who wish that we were making the trip.  You won't be faulted for not taking unsurvivable risks.

The old Scots saying applies here, "Listen only to the advice of the man who lived by it... and survived".  It looks like that advice is available to recon the gas situation along the route.

[Woodcarver]

I am privileged to make this first post in the Canadian "Nunavut, Yukon, and The Northwest Territories" section.  I am planning a trip to the Arctic Ocean for the summer of 2017.  From my investigation, a few motorcyclists have made the journey, but not many, and I can find no record of any rider ever making the journey on an Indian.  It seems reasonable to me that the first Indian to put a tire into the Arctic Ocean might as well be a 2014 blue Classic (the rarest of the breed).

My preferred route is through the Western states of the US, then through the Northwest Territories of Canada, specifically, the Yukon.  I have mapped a route up to Inuvik, NT, Canada, which gets me about 100 miles South of Tuktoyaktuk, NT, which is on the Arctic Ocean, but I can find nothing between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.  Do any of you Canadian riders know the area well enough to know whether there is a route and can describe it to me?  If I can get no further North in the Yukon than Inuvik, then I will go to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, but that seems so common.

For those of you who are curious enough to wonder, this will be a 10,000 mile round trip and should require 30 to 60 days of travel.  Most of the journey North of the Canadian border will probably be wilderness camping at night beside my bike.  I am really looking forward to this...

For a fairly detailed report on a trip to Alaska by two members of the Drifter forum, check out the following in Accelerate: Part 1 - http://accelerate.presspublisher.us/issue/issue-2-2014/article/driftintodeadhorse1 & Part 2 - http://accelerate.presspublisher.us/issue/issue-3-2014/article/driftintodeadhorse2 . The article should provide a good source of inspiration.

Note: Seven months after publication of the final article on this bucket list item, Danny Taylor was killed in a traffic accident near his Texarcana home - http://www.pressreader.com/usa/texarkana-gazette/20150408/281479274931902/TextView

[Venator]

That article about Danny Taylor's death was disturbing. Tragic!

Putting it politely, the actions of that cager, who cut across 4 lanes for a left turn, are inexcusable. I hope he was on the Texas side of town, and that a jury of Texans handled his trial.

But, my apologies... I don't want to mess up Cowboy's incredible adventure with rants about cagers. Sorry, Richard!

[bwana6]

Don't offend liberals with jury judgement...........you'll get fried right here on this site.


Cowboy .......... if you want to talk to my friend who made this trip a few times on his BMW, let me know. I will send you his email address.

[Terra X]

Hey Cowboy, I  would be interested in doing  part of that trip, first 2500 miles or so. I have family members in Anchorage so would head that direction eventually.  Put me on your possible riders list. I  would start my trip from the central coast of California (Watsonville 95076).

[RedCloud]

Don't offend liberals with jury judgement...........you'll get fried right here on this site.


Cowboy .......... if you want to talk to my friend who made this trip a few times on his BMW, let me know. I will send you his email address.

Bwana you know nothing will really happen to the cager because it's only a biker. Pretty much a slap on the wrist is it as it is in every state. Not sure what politics has to do with it because it happens all the time. I don't know of anyone that got even a yr in jail for it.

Any how Cowboy this will be a epic adventure and we will want to hear all about it. You have more balls than I buddy but No guts no glory right.
He'll maybe we'll even see a movie or reality show about it you know instead of " Mountain Men " it will be "Motorcycle Men or Indian Tracks " lol
I do wish you a safe trip when you decide to take this endever .

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[TC Rider]

Cowboy, here is a link to the MTF (motorcycle tourers forum). Many of the riders on here have ridden to Alaska and the Arctic circle. Maybe do a little search or just post for help. They are good people.
TC


http://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTourer

[133]

Hey Cowboy, I  would be interested in doing  part of that trip, first 2500 miles or so. I have family members in Anchorage so would head that direction eventually.  Put me on your possible riders list. I  would start my trip from the central coast of California (Watsonville 95076).

Hey Terra X, Glad to have you join me - for whatever part of the trip we can do together.  Please realize that my trip is planned for the summer of 2017 (18 months from now).  Stay in touch and we will work out the details and the time draws near.

[Ottawa-Rob]

Hey, Cowboy

What an epic ride that would be! The definition of hard-core.

While Canadian, I'm certainly no expert on the far north. Still I don't think you'll be able to get much past Inuvik on the ground in the summer.  That's the end of the Dempster Highway.  After that, they rely on ice to firm up the ground enough to travel on. The next stop along the way would be Reindeer Station and, to my knowledge, there isn't even a road to get you that far in summer. That's only 25 miles and it would likely be another 100 or more to get to Tuktoyaktuk over a lot of muskeg.

If you're going to try it, though, you need to video the whole adventure. This would rival Ewan and Charlie's trips. You could call this adventure "The Long Way Up"

[133]

Thanks, Rob - that is very helpful!  I am not ready to spend the autumn and early winter camped in the woods waiting for the river to freeze, but I have looked at the possibility of a ferry ride up the MacKenzie river from Inuvik to Tuktoyakt.  I need to contact the Tuktoyakt city government to find the best summer access into their town.

[Ottawa-Rob]

Cowboy,

I found some confirmation in the first 20 seconds of this video.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAn5OEWQhiI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAn5OEWQhiI</a>